April 4, 2025 • 12 mins
This week, we talk about the new innovation helping to keep more people safe, the new baby cub born and an incredible community initiative to get more actors on stage!
Hosts: Zara Seidler and Emma Gillespie
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Already and this is the Daily h This is the
Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Saturday,
the fifth of April.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I'm Zara Sidler, I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We are back with another week of the Good News podcast,
filled today with stories of innovation, great animal news and
also a brilliant community story.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
So without further ado, let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Zara, We're starting today's podcast off with a fascinating breakthrough
from the world of drink spiking, such a kind of
insidious and dangerous threat to young people. We've heard a
lot of concerning stories about drink spiking over the last
several years, but this piece of information and this discovery
(00:54):
is really going to change the game.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
One hundred percent. I loved reading about this and it's
one of those times where innovation is really matching a
need and demand for something in markets.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So this week, researchers.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Have announced that they have developed a new stir stick
that detects drink spiking in mere seconds.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Now it's called Spikeless, this new stairstick, and it was
created by researchers from the University of British Columbia, And
as I said, it's capable of detecting drink spiking drugs
like GHB and ketamine within thirty seconds.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So we're talking about like a physical you.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Can put it in a drink, yep, exactly, and it
can protect it. That's in straightaway exactly. And to just
set the scene as to why something like this is
so necessary, drink spiking is when drugs are covertly added
to a person's drink, often with the intent to cause
harm or commit assault. We know, of course that this
disproportionately affects young women, and so innovation like this is
(01:54):
very welcome.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
The rapidness as well of the response of this test
that it works within thirty secon that's really important too,
because drink spiking, if you are drugged, that can the
impacts of that can also set in relatively immediately exactly.
So I suppose the idea here is that if you
are worried that you have been spiked, if you find
out that you've been spiked, you can discover that quickly
enough to kind of seek help and give yourself to
(02:18):
a safe space exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And we know that there have been lots of alternatives
put forward in this space, there have been things like
cups that can test coasters, straws. I remember reading about
a nail polish that you could dip your finger in
and it would turn a different color. Yeah, there were
some early signs there that innovation was kind of on
foot here. But this one, the researchers hope, is more
(02:40):
discreete than existing alternatives, and also it doesn't contaminate the drinks,
so if you do find that there is nothing in
that you know, you can continue drinking it. UBC researchers
have said that they hope venues will adopt this so
that venues have it available for people to just use,
and that will then shift the onus away from the
individual to have this thing and rather onto venues to
(03:02):
provide safety for patrons, which I think is a really
great solution.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Amazing. We love when the world of science meets public
health like this and keeps people safe.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I will just segue very neatly into another innovation that I.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Read about this week.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
This is kind of a different one, but so many
people are affected, obviously by heart disease and by problems
affecting people's hearts. I know that a lot of people
in my life have required pacemakers as of late, and
so this innovation I thought was fascinating. So medical engineers
from Northwestern University have developed what they call the world's
(03:42):
smallest pacemaker. This is one of those times where I
wish the podcast could provide a visual cue for people
to understand. But it is tiny, yes, pacemaker. So if
you're not familiar, a pacemaker is a small, battery powered
device that's implanted into the chest to help regulate a
slow or an irregular heartbeat, and it sends electrical pulses
(04:04):
to the heart. And typically these pacemakers are the size
of a matchbox and you have to have a surgery
to have them implanted. But now these researchers have designed
a small wireless device that's biocompatible and it could bypass
the need for surgical extractions. So, just to give you
a sense of how small we're talking, it's one point
(04:26):
eight millimeters by three point five millimeters by one millimeter.
That sounds so it's like sits on the like little
part of a finger.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I was going to say that sounds like a grain
of rice.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
It is, so it's that small, and the way it
works is that it's paired with a wearable device that
mounts onto the patient's chest so that controls the pacing.
But it means that you're not having these big surgeries.
And the reason that they say this could be such
a big breakthrough is that they have children in mind,
these researchers, and they said one percent of children are
(04:58):
born with congenital heart defects, and thus they think this
new device could be a potentially safer alternative to more
traditional pacemakers that we said are bigger and require that
big extraction. And so I think that this is a
brilliant piece of research to keep an eye on and
to see whether it can be rolled out, you know,
more broadly incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
This also is off the back of earlier this year,
we heard this story out of the US the world's
smallest pacemaker was successfully implanted in a newborn baby, Mikey OLIVERI.
This baby was born prematurely in December last year with
a rare heart condition in the US. This team of
NYU pediatric cardiologists led this breakthrough procedure which saved that
(05:42):
baby's life. And as you mentioned, you know, with that
need for children, until now, the number of kind of
options for small patients has been really limited, so it's
about addressing that kind of vital need and so exciting. Yeah,
from innovation to conservation, Zara.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
That would be natural segue, wasn't it good for you?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Thank you so much. Not my first rodeo.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
It wouldn't be a good news podcast without a brilliant
story from the animal Kingdom. We're talking about the birth
of a baby lion in Australia.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Exactly so wherever the Open Range Zoo has welcomed the
birth of a small bit mighty lion cub. The cub
was born last weekend and I found this really interesting.
It's the first time in the zoo's forty one year
history that a single cub has been born, so as
opposed to oh, like a litter exactly.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So the single cub was born and to them the zoo,
they say, no siblings, no rivalry, just a single little
cub already proving that greatness starts are the power of one.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Wow, this club is going to have only child syndrome.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
No, I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
But we've been told that both mum and cub are
doing extremely well. They're developing their bond and they're going
to be spending the next kind of six to eight
weeks just bonding, so no one's going to be able
to visit them, and that that's meant to replicate the
bonding experience that happens out in the wilderness. We will
keep you updated when the little cub is named in
a few weeks once that period is over. But hey,
(07:14):
we love a lion story. We love an animal story.
Love them together.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
What do you get? You get the good news part? Okay,
I want to joy. That was going to end, but
I love it.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Zara's staying in the natural world. I've got a mushroom
story for you this week.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Hit me.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
It's a big week for mushrooms because an Australian organization
is going to lead the first ever attempt to grow
mushrooms in space.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Tell me more so.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
There is this mission being launched in the next few weeks.
A SpaceX craft is going into space, a mission called
FRAM two. The FRAM two mission will be a four
day journey. It's going to be the first human space
flight over Earth's Pole of regions and among its crew
is going to be an Aussie. Australian man are Phillips,
and he is going to help attempt to grow oyster
(08:03):
mushrooms in micro gravity. The experience has been aptly coined
Mission mush Room. It will be led by food Iq
Global and Ossie Company, and in a statement fram two
said it will be the first study of its kind.
It called oyster mushrooms quote the perfect space crop, helping
astronauts meet their nutritional needs on long duration space missions
(08:26):
like those to Mars, while closing the loop in plant
agriculture and helping to minimize inputs and waste.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
It's interesting because we're.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Hearing more and more about kind of longer term ambitions
to spend more time on the Moon, or set up
colonies on the Moon, or head to Mars. And you know,
these ideas all sound so far out there literally and figuratively,
but you know, food is going to be really important
to achieving that.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So and Ozzie's being on the front line of that.
We love it.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Finishing up today's good news pot, of course, with a
community good news story Take it away.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
So this week I received a DM from a what
I'm told is a loyal TDA Good News podcast listener.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
We love to hear it.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Her name is Tyler, and she wanted to tell me
about stars and the Moon. Now Stars in the Moon
is Melbourne's only all abilities theater company. It's dedicated to
high quality, inclusive performances. So Stars in the Moon has
just announced its twenty twenty five production, which is going
to be none other than Shrek the Musical.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Stop what a winner.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
This story of acceptance, adventure and laughter is going to
come to life on the stage and it's going to
feature the group's unique castmate model, where performers of all
abilities work together to share roles and support one another.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And so, looking into a bit.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
More about Stars and the Moon, it was born out
of a shared love of musical theater between founder Ayton
and his cousin Zach, who is an actor who lives
with down syndrome.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
And in building this theater company.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Aton sought to create a space where performance of all
abilities could share the spotlight and could create moving and
accessible theater. And so this year more than one hundred
and twenty passionate performers auditioned for Shrek the Musical.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
I mean, why wouldn't they.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Bang out of a music gage exactly, making it Star
in the Moon's biggest casting process yet. And so the
final cast will bring together both returning and new performers,
and they'll all bring their unique energy and talent to
the stage. And so auditions have closed unfortunately, but there
are many different ways that you can get involved with
this group. They offer a range of opportunities including workshops, showcases,
(10:42):
and performances. So I will be sure to put a
link in today's show notes, and I can't wait personally
to hear more about the show when it comes to
the stage later this year.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I love this.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I am a theater girl through and through. I love
I love hearing about you know these opportunities. There is
nothing quite like the joy of being on stage or
sharing in the kind of beautiful, theatrical and artistic experience
that comes from putting a show together, and no one
should be excluded from that if that's what they're passionate about.
(11:12):
I absolutely love this story. I'm so stoked to hear
more about Stars in the Moon. Love the people are
doing this together, supporting each other, and Shrek the Musical,
I mean, come on, what an excellent.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Pick I know for the repertoire.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
I know, let's take Emma's musical theater prowess to get
us out on a Saturday morning. Thank you for listening
to today's episode of The Daily Ours. We'll be back
tomorrow morning with a bonus episode, but until then, have
a brilliant Saturday. My name is Lily Madden and I'm
(11:47):
a proud Arunda Bunjelung Kalkotin woman from Gadigl Country. The
Daily os acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the
lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all
Aboriginal and Torris Strain islands. We pay our respects to
the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
Already and this is the Daily h This is the
Daily OS. Oh, now it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It's Saturday,
the fifth of April.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I'm Zara Sidler, I'm Emma Gillespie.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We are back with another week of the Good News podcast,
filled today with stories of innovation, great animal news and
also a brilliant community story.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
So without further ado, let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Zara, We're starting today's podcast off with a fascinating breakthrough
from the world of drink spiking, such a kind of
insidious and dangerous threat to young people. We've heard a
lot of concerning stories about drink spiking over the last
several years, but this piece of information and this discovery
(00:54):
is really going to change the game.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
One hundred percent. I loved reading about this and it's
one of those times where innovation is really matching a
need and demand for something in markets.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
So this week, researchers.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
Have announced that they have developed a new stir stick
that detects drink spiking in mere seconds.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Now it's called Spikeless, this new stairstick, and it was
created by researchers from the University of British Columbia, And
as I said, it's capable of detecting drink spiking drugs
like GHB and ketamine within thirty seconds.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
So we're talking about like a physical you.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Can put it in a drink, yep, exactly, and it
can protect it. That's in straightaway exactly. And to just
set the scene as to why something like this is
so necessary, drink spiking is when drugs are covertly added
to a person's drink, often with the intent to cause
harm or commit assault. We know, of course that this
disproportionately affects young women, and so innovation like this is
(01:54):
very welcome.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
The rapidness as well of the response of this test
that it works within thirty secon that's really important too,
because drink spiking, if you are drugged, that can the
impacts of that can also set in relatively immediately exactly.
So I suppose the idea here is that if you
are worried that you have been spiked, if you find
out that you've been spiked, you can discover that quickly
enough to kind of seek help and give yourself to
(02:18):
a safe space exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
And we know that there have been lots of alternatives
put forward in this space, there have been things like
cups that can test coasters, straws. I remember reading about
a nail polish that you could dip your finger in
and it would turn a different color. Yeah, there were
some early signs there that innovation was kind of on
foot here. But this one, the researchers hope, is more
(02:40):
discreete than existing alternatives, and also it doesn't contaminate the drinks,
so if you do find that there is nothing in
that you know, you can continue drinking it. UBC researchers
have said that they hope venues will adopt this so
that venues have it available for people to just use,
and that will then shift the onus away from the
individual to have this thing and rather onto venues to
(03:02):
provide safety for patrons, which I think is a really
great solution.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
Amazing. We love when the world of science meets public
health like this and keeps people safe.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
I will just segue very neatly into another innovation that I.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Read about this week.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
This is kind of a different one, but so many
people are affected, obviously by heart disease and by problems
affecting people's hearts. I know that a lot of people
in my life have required pacemakers as of late, and
so this innovation I thought was fascinating. So medical engineers
from Northwestern University have developed what they call the world's
(03:42):
smallest pacemaker. This is one of those times where I
wish the podcast could provide a visual cue for people
to understand. But it is tiny, yes, pacemaker. So if
you're not familiar, a pacemaker is a small, battery powered
device that's implanted into the chest to help regulate a
slow or an irregular heartbeat, and it sends electrical pulses
(04:04):
to the heart. And typically these pacemakers are the size
of a matchbox and you have to have a surgery
to have them implanted. But now these researchers have designed
a small wireless device that's biocompatible and it could bypass
the need for surgical extractions. So, just to give you
a sense of how small we're talking, it's one point
(04:26):
eight millimeters by three point five millimeters by one millimeter.
That sounds so it's like sits on the like little
part of a finger.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I was going to say that sounds like a grain
of rice.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
It is, so it's that small, and the way it
works is that it's paired with a wearable device that
mounts onto the patient's chest so that controls the pacing.
But it means that you're not having these big surgeries.
And the reason that they say this could be such
a big breakthrough is that they have children in mind,
these researchers, and they said one percent of children are
(04:58):
born with congenital heart defects, and thus they think this
new device could be a potentially safer alternative to more
traditional pacemakers that we said are bigger and require that
big extraction. And so I think that this is a
brilliant piece of research to keep an eye on and
to see whether it can be rolled out, you know,
more broadly incredible.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
This also is off the back of earlier this year,
we heard this story out of the US the world's
smallest pacemaker was successfully implanted in a newborn baby, Mikey OLIVERI.
This baby was born prematurely in December last year with
a rare heart condition in the US. This team of
NYU pediatric cardiologists led this breakthrough procedure which saved that
(05:42):
baby's life. And as you mentioned, you know, with that
need for children, until now, the number of kind of
options for small patients has been really limited, so it's
about addressing that kind of vital need and so exciting. Yeah,
from innovation to conservation, Zara.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
That would be natural segue, wasn't it good for you?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Thank you so much. Not my first rodeo.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
It wouldn't be a good news podcast without a brilliant
story from the animal Kingdom. We're talking about the birth
of a baby lion in Australia.
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Exactly so wherever the Open Range Zoo has welcomed the
birth of a small bit mighty lion cub. The cub
was born last weekend and I found this really interesting.
It's the first time in the zoo's forty one year
history that a single cub has been born, so as
opposed to oh, like a litter exactly.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
So the single cub was born and to them the zoo,
they say, no siblings, no rivalry, just a single little
cub already proving that greatness starts are the power of one.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Wow, this club is going to have only child syndrome.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
No, I love it.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
But we've been told that both mum and cub are
doing extremely well. They're developing their bond and they're going
to be spending the next kind of six to eight
weeks just bonding, so no one's going to be able
to visit them, and that that's meant to replicate the
bonding experience that happens out in the wilderness. We will
keep you updated when the little cub is named in
a few weeks once that period is over. But hey,
(07:14):
we love a lion story. We love an animal story.
Love them together.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
What do you get? You get the good news part? Okay,
I want to joy. That was going to end, but
I love it.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Zara's staying in the natural world. I've got a mushroom
story for you this week.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Hit me.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
It's a big week for mushrooms because an Australian organization
is going to lead the first ever attempt to grow
mushrooms in space.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Tell me more so.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
There is this mission being launched in the next few weeks.
A SpaceX craft is going into space, a mission called
FRAM two. The FRAM two mission will be a four
day journey. It's going to be the first human space
flight over Earth's Pole of regions and among its crew
is going to be an Aussie. Australian man are Phillips,
and he is going to help attempt to grow oyster
(08:03):
mushrooms in micro gravity. The experience has been aptly coined
Mission mush Room. It will be led by food Iq
Global and Ossie Company, and in a statement fram two
said it will be the first study of its kind.
It called oyster mushrooms quote the perfect space crop, helping
astronauts meet their nutritional needs on long duration space missions
(08:26):
like those to Mars, while closing the loop in plant
agriculture and helping to minimize inputs and waste.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
It's interesting because we're.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
Hearing more and more about kind of longer term ambitions
to spend more time on the Moon, or set up
colonies on the Moon, or head to Mars. And you know,
these ideas all sound so far out there literally and figuratively,
but you know, food is going to be really important
to achieving that.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
So and Ozzie's being on the front line of that.
We love it.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Finishing up today's good news pot, of course, with a
community good news story Take it away.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
So this week I received a DM from a what
I'm told is a loyal TDA Good News podcast listener.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
We love to hear it.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
Her name is Tyler, and she wanted to tell me
about stars and the Moon. Now Stars in the Moon
is Melbourne's only all abilities theater company. It's dedicated to
high quality, inclusive performances. So Stars in the Moon has
just announced its twenty twenty five production, which is going
to be none other than Shrek the Musical.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Stop what a winner.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
This story of acceptance, adventure and laughter is going to
come to life on the stage and it's going to
feature the group's unique castmate model, where performers of all
abilities work together to share roles and support one another.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
And so, looking into a bit.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
More about Stars and the Moon, it was born out
of a shared love of musical theater between founder Ayton
and his cousin Zach, who is an actor who lives
with down syndrome.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
And in building this theater company.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Aton sought to create a space where performance of all
abilities could share the spotlight and could create moving and
accessible theater. And so this year more than one hundred
and twenty passionate performers auditioned for Shrek the Musical.
Speaker 3 (10:16):
I mean, why wouldn't they.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Bang out of a music gage exactly, making it Star
in the Moon's biggest casting process yet. And so the
final cast will bring together both returning and new performers,
and they'll all bring their unique energy and talent to
the stage. And so auditions have closed unfortunately, but there
are many different ways that you can get involved with
this group. They offer a range of opportunities including workshops, showcases,
(10:42):
and performances. So I will be sure to put a
link in today's show notes, and I can't wait personally
to hear more about the show when it comes to
the stage later this year.
Speaker 3 (10:51):
I love this.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
I am a theater girl through and through. I love
I love hearing about you know these opportunities. There is
nothing quite like the joy of being on stage or
sharing in the kind of beautiful, theatrical and artistic experience
that comes from putting a show together, and no one
should be excluded from that if that's what they're passionate about.
(11:12):
I absolutely love this story. I'm so stoked to hear
more about Stars in the Moon. Love the people are
doing this together, supporting each other, and Shrek the Musical,
I mean, come on, what an excellent.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Pick I know for the repertoire.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
I know, let's take Emma's musical theater prowess to get
us out on a Saturday morning. Thank you for listening
to today's episode of The Daily Ours. We'll be back
tomorrow morning with a bonus episode, but until then, have
a brilliant Saturday. My name is Lily Madden and I'm
(11:47):
a proud Arunda Bunjelung Kalkotin woman from Gadigl Country. The
Daily os acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the
lands of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all
Aboriginal and Torris Strain islands. We pay our respects to
the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.
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